Israeli Settlers Burn Hundreds of Dunams of Wheat and Olive Trees West of Hebron

Israeli settlers set fire to Palestinian agricultural land west of the city of Hebron in the southern West Bank on Tuesday, targeting fields planted with wheat and olive trees amid clashes and tension.

“Israeli settlers set fire on large swathes of Palestinian agricultural land cultivated with wheat in the area west of the city of Hebron, in the southern West Bank, on Tuesday, amid tension and clashes in the area under the protection of the Israeli army”

Al-Jazeera Net

The burning operation took place in the area west of Hebron, including the town of Idna, where local sources and eyewitnesses said settlers burned wheat crops cultivated on residents’ lands adjacent to the Adora settlement and the new outpost named Adorim.

Al-Jazeera Net

An Anadolu Ajansı report said the settlers burned “hundreds of dunams of land planted with wheat” west of Hebron along the boundary with Adora and Adorim.

A separate report from جريدة القدس said the attack destroyed “hundreds of dunams” of wheat and olive trees while Israeli army forces provided full protection and prevented farmers from approaching to save their lands.

جريدة القدس reported that local sources said the settlers deliberately used assisting tools such as 'the blower' to ensure flames spread more quickly across the dry crops, making it extremely difficult to control the fire.

Al-Jazeera Net said one Palestinian resident affected by the incident told Al Jazeera that the settlers lit the fires using a blower to spread them, causing wide areas to burn, and that the Israeli army accompanied the settlers, prevented residents from confronting the fire, and fired tear gas at them.

Al-Jarida al-Quds

During the incident, Al-Jazeera Net reported that three Palestinians were arrested while sirens were heard and residents and Israeli forces engaged in verbal clashes.

جريدة القدس added that the clashes resulted in the arrest of three Palestinians who own the lands, which locals described as part of a policy of systematic pressure to push them to leave their lands.

Al-Jazeera Net linked the Hebron-area arson to a broader pattern, saying Palestinians say settler attacks have risen notably in the West Bank in parallel with Israel's war on the Gaza Strip, which began on October 8, 2023.

“Several Israeli settler groups on Tuesday set fire to large swathes of Palestinian agricultural land located west of the city of Hebron in the southern West Bank”

Al-Jarida al-Quds

The same Al-Jazeera Net report cited Palestinian Government Information Office data on May 26, saying the escalation in the West Bank left 1,168 Palestinians killed, 12,666 injured, and about 23,000 arrested, in addition to about 23,000 arrested and 33,000 displaced.

جريدة القدس said the burning incident came amid a noticeable rise in settler attacks across the West Bank, where Palestinian food security is targeted through burning crops and cutting mature trees, and it described the measures as coinciding with forcible displacement of thousands of families.

In the Sebastia area near Nablus, WAFA cited by وكالة الانباء والمعلومات الفلسطينية reported settlers set fire to about 40 hectares of wheat farmland, and it said the wheat harvest was completely burned, causing enormous losses to farmers Muhaibish and Shihab.